Connecting SolidSync Network/Bluetooth GPS to Windows 7

Thank you for using SolidSync Network/Bluetooth GPS, the quick and easy way to get location data over Bluetooth and TCP/IP from an Android mobile device running Android 2.0 or higher. This guide walks through the steps necessary to connect Network/Bluetooth GPS to a computer using the stock Windows 7 Bluetooth interfaces.

Compatibility

The steps below were performed using a computer running Windows 7 and using the default Microsoft bluetooth driver implementation. You can verify you have a compatible system by opening the Device Manager: click the Start button and then type devmgmt.msc to open the Device Manager. The device manager will show a tree of device classes: expand the Bluetooth Devices option as shown in Figure 1 below. There should be a tree item with a name that starts with Microsoft Bluetooth Enumerator or something similar.

Figure 1: stock Windows 7 Bluetooth devices information.

If you are using a different version, the menus and screens may be different from what is shown below.

Details

Tap the Network/Bluetooth GPS icon on the phone to start the application. If this is the first time the application has been started, the app will appear as shown in Figure 2 below, otherwise it will appear as in Figure 3 below. After reading through the help file, tap the OK button.

Figure 2: initial startup screen

Tap the service Start button to start the GPS service, as shown in Figure 3 below.

Figure 3: GPS service started

Tap the Bluetooth Start button to start the Bluetooth service, as shown in Figure 4 below.

Figure 4: Bluetooth service started

Tap the Menu button to open the application menu as shown in Figure 5 below.

Figure 5: application menu

Tap the Make Device Discoverable menu item as shown in Figure 6 below.

Figure 6: make device discoverable menu item

A confirmation request will pop up as shown in Figure 7 below.

Figure 7: confirmation request to make device discoverable

Tap OK to confirm the request: an indication will show up as in Figure 8 below.

Figure 8: device discoverable confirmation message

On the Windows 7 computer, click on the Bluetooth icon in the system tray to open up the Bluetooth Devices menu as shown in Figure 9 below, and then select Add a Device.

Figure 9: opening Bluetooth Add a Device window

The computer will automatically begin searching for the phone: once the phone is found, it will be shown as in Figure 10 below.

Figure 10: device found

Click on the device to start the pairing process: a pairing code will be shown as seen in Figure 11 below.

Figure 11: pairing code dialog

On the phone, a pairing code input will appear as shown in Figure 12 below. Enter the code displayed on the screen into the dialog.

Figure 12: device found

Once the pairing is complete a confirmation will be displayed on the Windows 7 computer as shown in Figure 13 below. Click the Close button.

Figure 13: Bluetooth pairing successful!

An additional driver installation notification may appear as shown in Figure 14 below.

Figure 14: additional driver installation notification

Once the driver installation is complete, click on the Bluetooth icon in the system tray to open up the Bluetooth Devices menu as shown in Figure 15 below, and then select Show Bluetooth Devices.

Figure 15: opening Show Bluetooth Devices window

The Bluetooth Devices window will appear as shown in Figure 16 below: click on the phone to open the device properties.

Figure 16: Bluetooth Devices window

Once the device properties window is open, select the Services tab as shown in Figure 17 below. You’ll see that the serial port is available (COM4 in Figure 17 below).

Figure 17: device services with SolidSync Bluetooth GPS port.

The connection is setup. You can see the GPS data as shown in Figure 18 below.